The first time I saw Cavino was when I attended the grand opening of Residence Inn. This is a great concept, coffee bar by day, and wine bar by night. The common theme...bar! One of things that has been raved about is their Truffle Popcorn. Well, I had to see what the fuss was all about. The plate of popcorn arrived warm and the scent of truffle was unmistakeable. Thankfully, the oil didn't make the popcorn soggy, but the taste was much milder than the smell. All the kernels were popped but some seemed on the wrong side of stale. True to the carnivores we are, we went straight for the Butchers Plate. This is a selection of three meats for $18. All the meats are from The Oyama Sausage Company, one of my favourites purveyors of meat in the city. We chose Jambon Blanc with the stoneground mustard, the Smoked Bison with the chutney and the Wild Boar Salami which came with pickles and olives. The bread and crostini that accompanied it rounded out the platter. The best was the smoked bison, lean and smokey, I couldn't get enough of it. The chutney was a bit too sweet for me, but the pickles and olives accompanying the Boar Salami made up for it. The crostini was a bit stale but when we mentioned it to our waitress, she promptly took it away and gave us more of the fresh baguette, which I appreciated. To finish off, we also got the Gamberoni Flatbread. The prawns on these were pretty large and had a nice bouncy chew to them. I also really liked the pesto they used, no heavy handed tomato sauce here. Making the dish perfect was the freshly melted mozzarella, and you can see the little pillows of them quite clearly in the picture.
Take note:
Certain tables have their own TVs
Service is pretty good since the restaurant was quiet when we went
Roast Beef Tenderloin available after 5pm for just $20 as well as Daily Features
Before heading to a Canucks game last month, we checked out George in Yaletown for some pre-game bites. Although better known for their club/lounge scene, I figured their association with Brix upstairs should bode well in terms of food. Neither of us were overly hungry, so we opted for just an dish each. Both were seafood, but that wasn't planned.
Purely gratuitous shot of Complimentary Bread. What was interesting is the butter, rather the location of the butter. On one side of the dish is oil and vinegar, okay, I get that. On the other side of the dish is oil and vinegar again, but with a dollop of butter. I can't help but think that it should have been just butter, or am I wrong, is this a new phenomenon that I've completely missed? For a starter, we started with the PEI Mussels, steamed in an Okanagan pinot blanc broth. They also had some shallots, bacon, cherry tomatoes. Rounding out the flavours were some roasted garlic and fresh & basil. The deep-fried potato string was a fun touch. I would have liked this to be served in a deeper bowl but that is purely a presentation preference and nothing to do with the flavours. It was surprisingly good. The flavours were well developed, the mussels were juicy and plump, and the broth was great with the slightly sweetened bread. For more of a main course, this is the Seared Yukon Arctic Char. This is a lightly flavoured fish, a cross between the richer salmon and the milder trout. The texture is very delicate and when cooked perfectly, which this was, flakes off nicely. Also, there isn't any fish aftertaste. The skin was very crispy and was a wonderful contrast to the fish. The fish was served with a love risotto, complete with some chopped prawns and snap peas. The flavours and textures really blended well together. The sauce was nice and tart and gave the dish a further unexpected dimension.
Take Note:
The place is really quiet before the witching hour, so service is attentive
The food is better than you would expect from a "lounge"
Great option for pre-event bites if you're in the Yaletown area
Our last dinner in Victoria is a place that was recommended to us by the bartender at Brasserie l'ecole. Located a little bit out of town, in a section of Victoria called Fernwood. Parking is a bit hard to come by, but it's worth it for a visit. The people that I talked said that the bartender at Stage is amazing, so instead of wine, we opted to try some of their cocktails. Here is the Absinthe Orange , made with three different alcohols: Bombay Sapphire, La fee absinthe, Grand Marnier. Despite the amount of alcohol in this drink, what really comes through is the citrus from the orange and a hint of absinthe. And I loved the kitschy glass that this came in. Most of their food offerings are tapas sized and meant for sharing. Because we had already had Nachos at Irish Times, this was perfect for some light bites. We started off with the Sooke Trout. The portion was larger that I expected for a "tapas" and it was really good. I love it when they serve the skin with fish, especially when it's crispy. Rounding out the place were some green beans and a smokey cured bacon. The saltiness of the pork paired well with the trout, and the whole dish came to life when you squirted some of the juices from the grilled lemon. This was definitely a winner. We wanted some meaty goodness in addition to the trout, so we got the Lamb Merguez Sausage. Again the portion surprised me, I guess I'm just used to the rather tiny servings of tapas in other places. The sausage was a bit drier than I was used to, but the chickpea ragout accompanying it helped to balance that out.
Take Note:
Amazing cocktails, if you don't see it on the list, ask for it anyways, they might just surprise you
Reasonably priced, three drinks and the food you see here for under $60
Parking nearly impossible, but you can park at the Victoria High School front and back lots.
One of things that has been raved about is their Truffle Popcorn. Well, I had to see what the fuss was all about. The plate of popcorn arrived warm and the scent of truffle was unmistakeable. Thankfully, the oil didn't make the popcorn soggy, but the taste was much milder than the smell. All the kernels were popped but some seemed on the wrong side of stale.
True to the carnivores we are, we went straight for the Butchers Plate. This is a selection of three meats for $18. All the meats are from The Oyama Sausage Company, one of my favourites purveyors of meat in the city. We chose Jambon Blanc with the stoneground mustard, the Smoked Bison with the chutney and the Wild Boar Salami which came with pickles and olives. The bread and crostini that accompanied it rounded out the platter. The best was the smoked bison, lean and smokey, I couldn't get enough of it. The chutney was a bit too sweet for me, but the pickles and olives accompanying the Boar Salami made up for it.
To finish off, we also got the Gamberoni Flatbread. The prawns on these were pretty large and had a nice bouncy chew to them. I also really liked the pesto they used, no heavy handed tomato sauce here. Making the dish perfect was the freshly melted mozzarella, and you can see the little pillows of them quite clearly in the picture. 
